Artifact
by dode1000
Summary: Kirk/Spock


**The Obligatory, Poorly Written, and Slightly Immature Kirk/Spock Fan Fiction**

(You have been warned)

Captains log: Star Date 312878.9953703704:

The crew of the Enterprise has been traveling through the beta quadrant and has received word from Starfleet command that there is a strange anomaly occurring on the outer rim of the system. Starfleet equipment has not been effective enough to detect any specifics of the strange occurrence. We have orders to investigate.

Captain Kirk looked at the viewscreen intensely. In front of him loomed a ominous gray planet. Kirk was secretly entertaining the notion that if he stared at the planet long enough, it would break down and reveal its secrets to him. Spock turned from his console and interrupted Kirk's musings.

"Captain, the planet isn't showing up on any of our charts"

Kirk snapped back to reality.

"Cross reference it with the Vulcan database. Make sure we didn't miss it"

Spock submitted a query into his console.

"Still nothing Captain"

Kirk sighed and resumed staring at the planet.

"So this is the source of the anomaly? It must be coming from something on the surface"

"Spock can you determine the class of the planet?"  
"It appears to be a N class planet. It is capable of supporting humanoid life."

"Good, we will search the surface for the source of the anomaly. This should be interesting."

Captain Kirk exuded an air of the utmost excitement. The crew had been traveling without incident for what seemed like years now, although it must have only been weeks. This would be a much needed experience of adventure.

Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the new ensign Jackson materialized on the surface of the mysterious planet. They stood on a stony plateau over looking a steep cliff. Behind them was a lush forested area surround by a misty white vapor. Soft cries of alien animals from the woods could be occasionally heard. Ensign Jackson inhaled some of the crisp, fresh air of the planet's atmosphere. Suddenly, Jackson fell to his knees clutching his bright red shirt. He inhaled sharply and began to twitch. McCoy quickly bent over to examine him. The ensign stopped moving and his eyes lolled into the back of his head.

McCoy began scanning Jackson immediately. Sweat dripped from his forehead as he moved his scanner nervously over the dying ensign's body. He wiped his brow and stood up slowly.

"He's in a coma" said McCoy with relief.

Kirk looked down with a sense of endearing pity, however, he could not have understood what just transpired. Jackson had a troubled childhood. He used to be verbally and physically abused by his cruel stepfather. Up until the age of 16, Jackson found himself a mental wreck, almost incapable of coherent human interaction. He only recovered after years of social support from his comrades in Starfleet. The air of the planet, was unfortunately of the exact same composition of that of his hometown in Lawrence, Kansas. This triggered a memory of his tormented past, which in turn, caused Jackson to have a heart attack.

"Captain I'll beam back up to take care of this kid. You ought to continue. I doubt you'll be in need of any medical assistance that your pointy eared friend can't provide" said McCoy.

"I'm going to ignore that comment, doctor" replied Spock indignantly.  
Kirk gave his medical officer permission to leave and the remaining two officers carried on into the wilderness of the enigmatic land, alone. The thick woods was lined with exotic fern trees with dark blue leaves. The ground was covered in thick grass that went up to Spock's neck. The plants slapped and jabbed the two explorers with every step. As Kirk pushed past another grove of vegetation, he found himself standing in a clearing.

In the center of this space was a stone relic, standing on a pedestal. The relic was in the shape of tall cylinder with a smooth dome at the tip. A faint glow emitted from the top. If it wasn't made of stone, Kirk would have mistaken it for a fuel rod of some sort.

"Its quite an odd shape" commented Kirk. "Please examine it Spock."

Spock removed his triquarter and activated the device. He began to slowly scan the object.

"The triquarter is giving no readings captain."

Kirk slowly became more and more intrigued by this enigmatic object.

"Examine it by hand." he commanded.

Spock slowly reached out and grabbed the base of the object. Carefully running his hand up the object carefully feeling for an irregularities. As his hand ran over the top of the dome, the relic emitted a thick pink gas that saturated the atmosphere surrounding them.

Kirk attempted to avoid inhaling the gas but his attempts were futile. Spock began a fit of coughing. The two officers slowly lost consciousness.

Several hours later the two woke up. Kirk was the first to rise to his feet. He looked around, dazed by the effects of the chemicals contained in the gaseous mixture.

"Spock, do you recall what happened?" he asked as he helped his first officer to his feet.

Spock slowly recollected the events that had just occurred.

"We were examining the relic, and thats all I can remember. I would advise returning to the ship. We need to be examined to see if we have been exposed to anything malignant."

Kirk nodded in agreement to his companion. The two felt incredibly disoriented. After fumbling about with his communications device, Kirk and Spock beamed back up to the Enterprise.

McCoy greeted the Captain with a grim face as he entered the medical bay. Ensign Jackson lay on one of the examination tables, laying on his back. His eyes were wide open, and his face was locked in a expression of agonizing pain. The site was almost gruesome.

"I'm afraid that Jackson didn't make it, Captain. After he went into a coma, his vitals suddenly spiked. There was nothing I could do." said McCoy through gritted teeth.

Kirk lay a hand of reassurance on McCoy's shoulder.

"I assure you, the tragedy was no fault of yours."

There was an awkward pause as Kirk tried to figure out the best way to transition from mourning his fallen comrade, to explaining the situation at hand. Spock stepped forward between the two grieving men.

"Doctor, the Captain and I have been exposed to a foreign substance on the surface of the planet we are currently orbiting. It is possibly dangerous."

McCoy glared intensely at Spock. Clearly, the doctor was still thinking of Jackson. However, the doctor put aside his grudge with his Vulcan nemesis and proceeded to escort the two officers to be treated. After running the crew members through various tests, McCoy gave his diagnosis.

"Whatever was in that discharge clearly had no lasting medical effects on the two of you. You're both free to go."

The Captain thanked McCoy for his services, and the two officers departed from the medical bay. Kirk noticed that his dizziness was fading. Spock was enjoying the silence of the hallways. The rhythmic beat of the Captain's step gave him an odd sense of comfort. In fact, nothing seemed more pleasing to Spock than routine and uniformity. He reveled in the order of the Starfleet vessel in contrast to the chaotic and disorderly world they had just left.

Silence....

Silence...

and then

"Spock, you look very attractive today..." Kirk blurted out. The Captain found himself surprised at his own words. The phrase just seemed to have slipped through his lips, without him noticing. It was an odd phenomenon the Captain could not quite understand. Surely these words were his own, but he had never really thought about this specific concept consciously. This both puzzled and worried Kirk. Spock turned and gave his superior a baffled look.

"Captain, if I may say so, I find your comments to be accurate, but unnecessary. I fail to see how my appearance affects the outcome of this mission." Spock replied curtly.

"It was just an observation. Carry on as though I have said nothing."

Kirk decided to pass off what just happened as a passing thought and nothing more.

Kirk settled down to eat his second meal of the day. The Captain took pride in his personal diet, which contained all the vital nutrients necessary in order to maximize both physical and mental performance. As the Captain began to take his first bite of carbohydrate packed whole wheat bread, he noticed someone glancing at him from the other side of the room. Kirk dropped his bread and peered toward the opposite end of the dining area. Spock was observing the Captain with unusual interest.

Kirk continued eating, ignoring his friend's odd mannerisms. After taking a sip of his mineral infused health beverage, Kirk noticed that, again, Spock was looking towards the Captain with heightened fervor. Kirk felt uncomfortable being watched so closely by another individual, but at the same time, he couldn't help but stare back at his Vulcan companion. However, every time he looked towards Spock, Spock would immediately look away.

As Kirk took the last bite of his meal, he stood up and briskly walked across the room towards his first officer. Kirk took a seat at Spock's table. Kirk opened his mouth to say something, but found himself being interrupted.

"Captain, allow me to apologize in advance. I believe you may have interpreted my interest in your eating habits as a violation of your principles of etiquette. In reality I was..."

Spock found himself at a loss for words. He had no logical reason for observing the Captain, it came from some unknown instinct. Also, Spock feared that the Captain would see him acting outside of the parameters of logic.

"In reality I was taking mental notes on the composition of your nutrition plan. I find the differences between the balance of nutrients necessary for the human and Vulcan bodies intriguing."

Spock rarely lied and even more rarely defied his concept of logic. He was finding today to be full of more ventures outside of convention than he was comfortable with.

"I was actually just thinking about the nutritional value of our meals. Its really something that I think Starfleet overlooks in terms of protocol. We give our Ensigns too much freedom in what they get to choose to eat."

Kirk gestured towards a portly Ensign sitting at a table with only five slices of Starfleet regulation pizza to keep him company. Spock chuckled. Kirk's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets due to sheer amazement.

"Spock, why have you chosen to express emotion? You have always gone to such great lengths to obscure it"  
Spock was surprised himself. The joke the Captain had made wasn't even all that funny. Surely this was only a momentary lapse in his resolve; an artifact of his human ancestry. Spock made no attempt to address Kirk's question. He was too ashamed of himself to even acknowledge his actions.

"Captain, as you are done eating, I believe we should adjourn to the bridge and continue tracking the anomaly." Kirk paused for a moment. "That would be wise." He said.

On the bridge of the Enterprise, Kirk and Spock found themselves unusually alone. The rest of the crew was still taking advantage of the ample free time the Captain had admitted. "We'll run a scan of the planet again to detect any changes in the anomaly's position. We should be able to get a more accurate register of its location." said Kirk. The two each sat at a console and began to run scans for unusual readings.

"It appears that the anomaly has disappeared, Captain. It was undoubtedly, some kind of temporal time space fluctuation caused by a piece of equipment. There was little reason to investigate in the first place." noted Spock.

"All right. When the rest of the crew gets back we'll hail Starfleet and give them the news." said Kirk.

The two felt ill at ease. It was pointless to go back to the dining quarters, yet there was nothing to do on the bridge. Kirk found himself looking at Spock again. He couldn't help but notice how shapely Spock's figure was. Spock had slender but acute features. His body embraced both strength and finesse in ways Kirk could not comprehend. His very existence seemed to be a paradox to Kirk. A rather sexy paradox.

At the same time Spock began to feel a certain attraction towards Kirk, an attraction that could not be quantified through the use of Newton's Gravitational constant. Kirk's connection to emotion, the ever-present taboo for Spock, gave him a certain allure. The longer Spock thought about his proverbial forbidden fruit, the more he wanted to taste it. To Spock, Kirk was a whole orchard.

The two sat in the bridge in silence, both secretly admiring the other, but unable to speak their desires. Their breathing grew intense. Like two caged panthers, the two became agitated and tense. Droplets of cool sweat rolled slowly down Kirk's brow. Spock stood up.

"Captain..." Kirk jumped to his feet and interrupted "Spock, you don't have to say anything. I know about the feelings you've been having. I've been having those same feelings and if we've both got these... desires, then I see no reason why we shouldn't fulfill them. We're by no means setting a precedent. Starfleet condones this kind of behavior. So don't wait anymore Spock. We're grown men!"

These passionate words spilled out of Kirk's lips at once. Kirk could barely restrain himself now. "But Captain, my Vulcan heritage... I must not show emotion" worried Spock. Kirk grabbed Spock by the shoulders; gently, but with force."To hell with the rest of the universe." cooed Kirk. "Oh Captain," said Spock who raised his left eyebrow in an gesture that was so alluring it would have aroused even a celibate Klingon priest.

"Please, call me Jim."

The pair slid into the captain's chair. Spock found himself laying on Kirk's broad, muscled chest. "Why Spock, you have such voluptuous ears. I never noticed." murmured Kirk. Spock was finding it hard to form sentences while Kirk's gentle caress was moving its way across his shoulder. Spock managed to say

"Captain, in all my travels throughout the galaxies, I've never had a moment as special as this. Truly, you are an unmatched paradigm. If this is anything what your women are like, then I can see why my father elected to marry one of yours."

Kirk looked put off. "What about women?" he asked. Spock quickly amended his statement "No, Captain. For me, there's only you. No one else." Kirk sighed sweetly. "Its so lonely out in the black. All this time, I've been trying to fill this hole in my heart, through wild adventures. I never bothered to look right in front of me." Spock looked into Kirk's eyes. They were deep, dark like black holes, that pulled Spock away from everything.

Spock wrapped his arms around Kirk's neck and slid deeper into his arms. He whispered mischievously into Kirk's ear "I have found the anomaly, Captain." Kirk paused for a moment and grinned. "Please, call me Jim." He repeated as he and Spock became intertwined in each other's embrace like the twin strands of a helix nebula.

Spock sat up and pressed his pointed nose against Kirk's "Jim, I believe you know what comes next... logically." soothed Spock. The Captain turned his head sideways, and moved in closer and closer to Spock's thin, slender, lips. Kirk could feel Spock's hot breath against his face, they were literally seconds away from feeling that feathery union between oral cavities.

Just as their lips were about to meet, Helmsman Sulu stepped onto the bridge. He announced his entry "Captain, the senior officers will be reporting in..." Sulu noticed the passionate romance unfolding in the Captain's chair.

Kirk and Spock bolted upward. Spock attempted to regain his composure while Kirk addressed Sulu. "The senior officers have permission to board the bridge. Prepare to warp in less than five" commanded Kirk. Spock looked longingly at the Captain. "Later" He uttered.

The next day the Enterprise resumed its original course. Kirk was called to medical bay by Dr. McCoy. "You should sit down." said McCoy. Kirk complied although he was rather confused.

"I've been suspicious of the chemical composition of the gas you were exposed to one the planet yesterday so I ran some tests. After doing an analysis I've found that the gas is composed of an element that is a variation of the element Kleinium. Such a chemical composition has been known to make those who inhale it have... strange tendencies. Anyways, if you've done anything out of character during the past day, its because of the Kleinium. The effects are worn off by now, but I thought you should know."

Kirk was heart broken. His affection for Spock was never real. It was just a result of an imbalance of chemicals. He had not known true love, just an unfortunate phenomenon. Crestfallen, Kirk thanked McCoy, and returned to the bridge.

Kirk sat in his Captain's chair and stared out into the void of space. Kirk had always seen the universe as a mostly empty place, but now, it seemed more empty than every. He knew there would be women, and he would love again. But he would never love the same way he did on that magical night. Sighing softly, Kirk looked to his former lover, standing dutifully at his post. For a second, Kirk thought he felt something; a spark or a glimmer of what he felt before. But as soon as it came, it left. And as, Kirk traveled into the infinite expanse of space, he shed a small tear for his lost love.

THE END


End file.
